Event Title

Presenter Information

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Location

Indianapolis, IN

Subject Area

Psychology

Start Date

11-4-2014 1:00 PM

End Date

11-4-2014 2:15 PM

Sponsor

Russell Coulter-Kern (Manchester University)

Description

Test anxiety is an issue for many students throughout their academic career. Nearly 25 percent of public school students experience test anxiety, and treatment interventions to reduce test anxiety are not widely studied (Von Der Embse, Barterian, & Segool, 2013). The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a prewriting intervention on levels of test anxiety in college students. Students from two Introduction to Psychology courses were randomly assigned to a control or experimental group. All students received and completed an informed consent and the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) (Spielberger, 1980), and then either a prewriting task or a placebo task. Students in the experimental prewriting task group were asked to write about their negative feelings and their anxiety level about the exam they would soon take. The control group was asked to write about their day. Then both groups filled out the six-item short-form of the state scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (Marteau & Bekker, 1992). Next, students took their exam and completed the STAI once more. The two groups will be compared to determine if anxiety levels decreased significantly after completing a prewriting intervention. It is expected that because of the prewriting intervention, the experimental group will have a significantly lower level of anxiety than the control group both before and after completing the exam.

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Apr 11th, 1:00 PMApr 11th, 2:15 PM

The Effects of a Prewriting Intervention on Test Anxiety

Indianapolis, IN

Test anxiety is an issue for many students throughout their academic career. Nearly 25 percent of public school students experience test anxiety, and treatment interventions to reduce test anxiety are not widely studied (Von Der Embse, Barterian, & Segool, 2013). The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a prewriting intervention on levels of test anxiety in college students. Students from two Introduction to Psychology courses were randomly assigned to a control or experimental group. All students received and completed an informed consent and the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) (Spielberger, 1980), and then either a prewriting task or a placebo task. Students in the experimental prewriting task group were asked to write about their negative feelings and their anxiety level about the exam they would soon take. The control group was asked to write about their day. Then both groups filled out the six-item short-form of the state scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (Marteau & Bekker, 1992). Next, students took their exam and completed the STAI once more. The two groups will be compared to determine if anxiety levels decreased significantly after completing a prewriting intervention. It is expected that because of the prewriting intervention, the experimental group will have a significantly lower level of anxiety than the control group both before and after completing the exam.